Alan Collinge is the founder of Student Loan Justice, a grassroots organization, and political action committee. In the first half, he discussed the staggering $1.77 trillion federal student loan debt in the US. "Greed came into Washington, D.C.," Collins explained, attributing the debt crisis to the government's transformation of student loans into a profit-generating scheme. He pointed out that the Department of Education now profits over $100 billion annually, allowing colleges to inflate tuition prices unchecked. He lamented the predatory nature of these loans, with the absence of bankruptcy protections and statutes of limitations that historically safeguarded borrowers.
"The founding fathers wrote the Constitution as a result of a debtors rebellion...and in it, they called for uniform bankruptcy laws," Collinge noted. He suggested that this right be established for student loans and that, additionally, we should hold wealthy colleges accountable for their role in the crisis with reforms that would force them to take responsibility for skyrocketing tuition costs.
He pointed out that the majority of borrowers have repaid their original loan amount, leaving only interest as profit for the government. In fact, many borrowers have repaid 300-400% more than they borrowed yet still owe significant amounts, demonstrating how the predatory practice is taking a toll on millions of Americans. Collinge concluded with a call for change: "The government created this mess, and Congress needs to fix this mess."
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In the latter half, founder of the Hollywood Ghost Hunters, Rick McCallum, talked about his many investigations throughout the US and the UK, as well as presented his research on ghosts and the tools he uses. He described ghost hunting in Scotland, Ireland, and England, highlighting the strong paranormal activity in these regions, noting that "Scotland is much older than us... pretty much anywhere you go had pretty good chances of it being haunted." He recounted chilling encounters at Bolton Abbey in England, where a fellow investigator collapsed, indicating an intense energy present in the location, and at Balgonie Castle in Scotland, where a spirit voice seemingly communicated with him through the 'Frank's Box' device.
He recounted some of his personal ghostly experiences, including a haunting at his father's house in Texas, where while sleeping in a bedroom, he felt a presence close enough to hear disturbing gasping sounds that repeated several times. His experiences with malevolent spirits were equally gripping. He recalled a time when he was "shoved from behind" while ghost hunting in San Diego, highlighting the unpredictable nature of the paranormal. "You have to be paying attention to what's going on," he advised. McCallum has concluded that most of these hauntings represent spirits that have not transitioned and remain in a kind of limbo. His upcoming tour, scheduled for September 1-8, will explore haunted sites in Ireland, where participants can immerse themselves in ghostly lore.
News segment guests: Lauren Weinstein, Mike Bara